The EU will provide only half of the promised million shells

By March, Ukraine will receive only half of the million shells promised by the EU. This was stated by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell.

He recalled that in March 2023, the EU promised to transfer one million artillery shells to Ukraine within a year. According to the data received, in March 2024 Ukraine will receive 524 thousand shells. This is only 52% of the goal.

At the same time, Borrell said that not all member countries have already given their contribution.

“We know that there is a fierce battle on the front line, that our friends in Ukraine need more ammunition and that we are far from the goal. However, we also know from the beginning that the goal set last year is very ambitious, ” said Borrell.

He recalled the world’s munitions shortage and supply chain problems. And also that new investments take time, so this is one of the reasons for the delay.

“I delivered a clear message to the member states that we need to do more and faster. The European Defense Agency has signed 60 framework contracts with European manufacturers for the joint procurement of 155mm ammunition. There we still have €1.5 billion of spare capacity that we can master it,” he emphasized, calling on EU member states to place more orders.

Earlier, European Commissioner Thierry Breton said that the EU has significantly increased the production of ammunition and will increase this capacity to 1 million ammunition per year in March and to 2 million in 2025.

Kuleba reacted to the EU’s delay with shells